Babies Can't Judge
by The Violent Tomboy
Summary: Artemis doesn't mind telling her baby niece everything about their family. /YJ anon meme prompt/


My only knowledge of the DC universe comes from whatever came out from cartoons and movies. I never read the comics. If you never got an adaptation, I never heard of you. Thus, the yj anon meme is proving to be very informative on characters I've never heard of and I'm falling in love with them through other people's fanfiction.

I am such a newb. Pity the local bookstore and library doesn't have much of a comic selection anyways.

That said, I have to find the Young Justice side-comics, at least.

And goddammit I want the next episode now...Cartoon Network, you'd better treat Weisman better than Disney did.

So yeah, written for the yj anon meme:_ So Roy asks Ollie to look after baby Lian, and Ollie, being the responsible adult he is, tells Artemis to do it without telling Roy about the change in plans.__ Cue Artemis pretty much telling Lian all her secrets ('cause hey, babies can't talk and she's the aunt) without knowing that Roy's back and overhearing the one-sided conversation.__ I'd like there to be some sort of uneasy understanding/truce between them._

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><p>"You look just like your mother," Artemis said, wrinkling her nose slightly as she held the baby at an arm's length to get a better look at its cherubic face. "Still have a few baby pictures of her at home. Yup, you're definitely a spitting image. Bet your dad would blow if he knew that somebody knew who your mother is. Me especially."<p>

Little Lian gave a happy gurgle before a dribble of saliva came leaking out of the corner of her mouth. Artemis carefully set her down in her crib atop the pink blankets, and wiped the spit away with the bib.

"I bet Mom will be thrilled if I ever told her about you. She always wanted to be a grandmother. This isn't the ideal circumstances, of course, but she'll be thrilled anyway."

Lian cocked her head to the side, her huge blue eyes, the same color as her father's, wide.

"But there's no way in hell I'm telling Dad about you."

Lian's eyes went even wider before she jammed her thumb into her mouth.

"Yeah, the moment he finds out about you, it'll suck for everyone. Considering your parents, it's safe to assume that you'll grow up to be a badass and he'll put you through _training _just like he did with me so that you'll be his perfect little assassin."

A raspberry was her response. Artemis let out a small chuckle before gently brushing back the baby's soft black bangs.

"That's right. You're not going to end up like your mom's side of the family, right? You've got a whole bunch of honorary uncles and aunts in the Justice League. You're going to end up as the goodiest-goody-good to ever to walk the earth."

Lian let out a yawn that nearly dislocated her jaw. As Lian closed her eyes, Artemis's own lowered as she gazed upon her tiny niece.

"I wonder if your mother ditched you like she did me. Were you too much of a burden for her to take along, too? She never bothered with me after she left me alone. She's pretty selfish and self-centered as it is."

Lian tightly held onto the Green Arrow plushy onto her side. Artemis smiled at the sight of the sleeping child, and once more ran her fingers through the baby's hair as she leaned forward against the crib.

"That's right. You've got a big family you can depend on now, who'll always look after you, who'll never leave you behind. You sure are lucky. And don't worry, I'll make sure Dad never finds out about you, and, in the crazy case he does, I'll never let him get anywhere near you."

Artemis pulled up the pink blanket up to her niece's chin. "Thanks for listening to me, little niece. You're probably the only person I can be this open to. Feels good to let everything out, even if you can't understand me. Of course, that is why I'm telling you; babies can't judge, not like everyone else."

Artemis gave her niece one last fleeting glance before heading towards the nursery door. The sun was setting, drenching the room with a gentle golden glow; Roy was likely to be back any moment now-

And there he was.

Her throat constricted, a cry tried to come out, and all that did was a strangled little gasp.

She tried to force out a coherent sentence, but her fear jumbled the words: "Green Arrow...date...asked me...you there...how long?"

Roy silently walked over his daughter's side, his back facing Artemis, before he spoke. "Long enough. So that's your secret, huh?"

Before she could babble out something about practicing for a school play, she was cut off by his next words. "Sorry."

That Artemis wasn't expecting that. "Wait...what?"

"You care about Lian, don't you?"

Artemis uneasily shifted from side to side. "Well, yeah. She's...family. And just because her mother's a psychopath doesn't mean that she's one too."

Roy heaved out a giant sigh. "I really can't ask for anything else."

Artemis didn't know how to respond to that, and after a few more tense moments, she turned around to leave.

"Hey."

She stopped mid-step.

Roy was facing her now, and his hands were shoved into his pockets. "I suppose you could babysit her again sometime..."

Despite everything, Artemis couldn't help but to smirk. "You know, fatherhood really did do you wonders on your attitude. You're actually capable of being civil now."

Roy actually scowled at her. And if she tilted her head at a certain angle, it sort of looked like a grumpy pout.

Artemis laughed before leaving the apartment.


End file.
